A method for measuring cross sections for electron-impact excitation out of metastable levels of atoms

A method for measuring cross sections for electron-impact excitation out of the metastable levels of the He atom is described. A hollow cathode discharge is used to produce an atomic beam consisting of ground-level He atoms and the He(2¹S) and He(2³S) metastable atoms. An electron beam of energy below 20 eV crosses the atomic beam exciting the metastable atoms to higher levels, and the intensity of the radiation emitted by atoms in these higher levels is utilized to determine the cross sections. Because of the very low concentration of metastable atoms in the atomic beam, the emission signal is extremely weak. A number of special techniques have been developed to detect these very low-level signals. Absolute calibration of the cross section is accomplished by referencing the emission signal that resulted from electron excitation out of the metastable level to the emission signal that resulted from the 2³S3³P or 2¹S3¹P laser optical absorption.